U.S. Calls On Tbilisi To Release Afghan Sadygov 'Expeditiously'

The United States on Tuesday urged Georgian authorities to 'expeditiously' release self-exiled Azerbaijani journalist,  Afgan Sadiqov, who was detained in Tbilisi last week and placed in a deportation center, TURAN 's Washington correspondent reports.

"We are deeply troubled by reports of Afghan Sadygov being detained in Tbilisi. We urge Georgian authorities to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and release him expeditiously,"  a State Department Spokesperson told TURAN's Washington correspondent.

Sadygov, who runs the news outlet Azel.TV, was detained in Tbilisi on August 3, at the request of the Azerbaijani side. A day after the Tbilisi City Court sentenced him to three months of extradition detention.

"His arrest occurs in the context of a continuing crackdown on arrests of Azerbaijani civil society and we again urge the Azerbaijani government to immediately release all individuals who are unjustly detained, to refrain from targeting civil society - including across borders - and to end efforts to undermine press freedom," a State Department Spokesperson told TURAN .

Sadiqov is a former political prisoner as he had been arrested in Baku several times since 2016 and served more than a year in jail for his reporting.

Sadygov has been living in Georgia since December 2023. He and his family members have reportedly been subject to threats and intimidation. On July 17, Sadygov was denied permission to leave Tbilisi’s international airport for Turkey and was informed by border control officials that he could only fly to Azerbaijan.  

Azerbaijan’s government has been accused of increasing its crackdown on media and civil society activism lately. Human rights organizations have documented at least 25 instances of the arrest or sentencing of journalists and activists since last fall, almost all of whom remain in custody.